Maternal and Infantile Adiponectin as Marker for Anthropometric Parameters of Lactating Mothers and their Breast-Fed Infants

BACKGROUND: Breast milk adiponectin could play a role in the regulation of infants’ growth during lactation. AIM OF WORK: The aim is to evaluate adiponectin concentration in human milk and to investigate its relationship with serum adiponectin concentration in lactating mothers and their breastfed infants and with anthropometric parameters of infants and mothers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty healthy term infants and their healthy lactating mothers are included at infant age of 1 month then repeated again at the age of 4 months. All subjects included in this study were subjected to history, clinical examination, investigations including serum level of adiponectin of infants and their mothers by RIA test, human milk level of adiponectin by ELISA test. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in serum adiponectin of infant and mothers and maternal breast milk at the age of 4 months when compared to them at the age of 1 month. There was a significant positive correlation between infant serum adiponection, maternal serum adiponectin and breast milk adiponectin at infant's age of 1 month and at infant's age of 4 months. There was a significant negative correlation between maternal serum adiponectin and BMI of mothers. There was a significant negative correlation between infant serum adiponectin and their weight and length of infants at the age of 1 month and at the age of 4 months. CONCLUSIONS: There's a metabolic link between mothers and their infants through breast milk during the first 6 months of life. A gradual decline in adiponectin level in maternal breast milk is associated with a gradual increase in infant growth up to 6 months of age.